


Through The Years

by wontonto



Series: AkaKen Week 2020 [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: M/M, Training Camp, and then the one during the anime, includes Akaashi and Kenma's first year at the Fukurodani Group training camp, just a little bit tho, kinda au-ish???
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2020-08-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:22:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26211109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wontonto/pseuds/wontonto
Summary: Kozume Kenma isn't someone very special, was Akaashi Keiji's first impression of him. But as they went through the Fukurodani Academy Group Training Camps together, Akaashi realized that maybe Kenma was someone he could get to know.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Kozume Kenma, Bokuto Koutarou/Kuroo Tetsurou, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Series: AkaKen Week 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1903564
Comments: 2
Kudos: 46
Collections: Akaken Week 2020





	Through The Years

_First Year_

The first time Akaashi saw Kenma, he wasn’t very impressed. He was more used to the flamboyant and loud players of his own team; Bokuto drew his attention more than anyone else. They were at the training camp run by the Fukurodani Academy Group and it was the first time Akaashi had ever been somewhere so big with so many skilled players. 

Kenma didn’t make an impression on Akaashi, really. But he was intrigued by how well the Nekoma team worked together. And how Bokuto turned into even more of an idiot when he was around one of the other Nekoma players with hideous bedhead. 

“Akaashi!!!” Bokuto threw his arm around his underclassman’s shoulder. “Come with me to practice my spikes!” 

Akaashi didn’t understand why Bokuto had latched onto him, but he begrudgingly allowed himself to be swept away to one of the gyms. 

He saw the Nekoma player who turned Bokuto into an idiot and one of the setters on Nekoma’s team. He figured that he was a first year as well, considering he wasn’t on the court as often as some of the other players. 

“Kuroo, how did you get Kenma here?!” Bokuto stumbled, as if he couldn’t believe his eyes. 

“Bribed him,” the guy’s grin made shivers run down Akaashi’s spine. He didn’t like that smile. 

The setter stood behind the taller, and Akaashi couldn’t help but wonder if he was scared. He understood that a lot of people couldn’t handle Bokuto’s energy, and it seemed like the setter was one of them. 

“So, this is Akaashi, I’m guessing?” Kuroo smirked, putting his hands on his hips. 

“Yeah! He’s gonna be a great vice-captain when I'm the captain!” Bokuto laughed. 

“Nice to meet you,” Akaashi bowed respectfully, ignoring Bokuto’s statement. He wasn’t worthy to be the vice-captain; he wasn’t even sure if he’d ever make it into a regular position on the team, especially one such as Fukurodani. 

“He seems like your kind of guy, Kenma,” Kuroo smirked over his shoulder at the setter. 

Akaashi cocked his head to the side, looking at the setter. 

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” he rolled his eyes. “I’m going to help you for ten minutes, Kuroo, that was the deal, then I get to go back to the room.” 

“C’mon, Kenma, we can’t play with only three of us!” Kuroo groaned. 

“That’s why I had to go and grab Akaashi!” Bokuto whined along with him. 

“Clock’s ticking,” the setter shrugged, moving onto the court. 

“Well, might as well get in as much practice as we can,” Kuroo shrugged, stretching his arms. 

“Let’s do this!!!” Bokuto raised his fists in excitement and got a volleyball before announcing that he was serving. 

Ten minutes later, exactly, Kenma slithered off the court to Kuroo and Bokuto’s dismay. 

The next few days went on this same way; with the four of them playing practice matches against each other during individual practice time. Kenma would always slink off to the Nekoma room, but during the second half of the week, he stuck around the gym. He’d pull out his gaming system and sit against the wall, playing it by himself. 

… 

Kenma felt eyes on him throughout the entire training camp, and he couldn’t shake the feeling that they were analyzing his every single move. He didn’t like that feeling. 

He tried to stay in the room designated for his team as much as possible, but Kuroo kept dragging him out to individual practice every day. 

It didn’t take him long to figure out that the eyes on him were from Fukurodani’s setter, Akaashi. He didn’t know him personally, but he’d had to listen to Bokuto talk a lot about him because Bokuto came over to their room _when he wasn’t supposed to be there._ He and Kuroo would whisper to each other when they were all supposed to be sleeping. 

Kenma didn’t want to imagine what could be going on between those two, nor did he want anything to do with them. But there was something about Akaashi that piqued Kenma’s interest in him. 

He was quiet, the complete opposite of Bokuto, but Kenma supposed that their friendship was much like his and Kuroo’s. 

After all the individual practice games, which he refused to be a part of for longer than thirty minutes _at most,_ he’d always go to be by himself in the Nekoma room. He found it to be a nice reprieve from the prying eyes on him, also to get away from Tweedle Dumb and Tweedle Dumber. 

Throughout the week, though, he found himself locking eyes with Akaashi more than once. Every time, it was only for a split-second because Akaashi would immediately look away, but it happened quite a lot. Usually he’d hate that, but there was something about Akaashi that just made him want to... get to know him better? 

He’d never really felt that way about anyone before, and he wasn’t sure what it meant. He didn’t mention it to anyone, especially Kuroo, but he could figure it out himself. 

He made himself more available in an effort to draw Akaashi in to make the first move by staying in the gym to play his video games. He’d sit against the wall after he was done with volleyball and, although he wasn’t sure it would work, he’d catch Akaashi glancing over his way a lot. He almost died in his games a few times because he felt Akaashi just staring at him. 

He’d hoped that just staying in the gym was an invitation enough for him to come and talk, but maybe it wasn’t. 

By the second-to-last day, they still hadn’t had a conversation. 

… 

The last day was when the teachers pulled out all the stops for the boys and held a huge barbeque, and they were allowed to all mingle together and have fun. 

Akaashi had every single opportunity to just go and talk to Kenma while everyone was eating, but something was stopping him. He’d seen Kenma stay in the gym after their individual practice times that were always spent with Bokuto and Kuroo, but he’d never talked to him. 

He was just... _nervous._ He’d never really had to initiate the conversation before, since he was around Bokuto more often than not. He supposed that maybe Kenma was the same because he was always around Kuroo. 

So, great, you put two introverts into a room together (or, as the case may be, at a barbeque) and what do you get? Two _anxious_ introverts trying to figure out who’s going to say something first. 

“Akaashi, why don’t you just go say hi to him or something?” Bokuto asked, gently shoving his underclassman on the shoulder. 

“No, I...” Akaashi cleared his throat. “It’s fine. I don’t need to.”

“You never know,” Bokuto shrugged. “I just said hi to Kuroo last year, and now we’re best buds.” 

Akaashi found it hard to believe that Bokuto had just said hi to Kuroo and they’d become that close. He didn’t want to know how actually close they were. He shuddered. 

“I don’t need to have friends outside of Fukurodani,” Akaashi said. 

“If you say so, but it’s a lot more fun when you do, especially during these camps,” Bokuto trotted off to where Kuroo was, throwing his arms around the other’s waist from behind. 

They were right by Kenma, and it looked like he was glaring at Kuroo while eating some of the food. His plate was heaped with meat, and Akaashi wouldn’t have thought that he’d eat that much; Kuroo must have topped off the plate for him. 

Bokuto would do the same for Akaashi if he didn’t keep an eye on his plate, honestly. 

… 

When it was time to say goodbye to all the other schools, Kenma watched Akaashi maybe a little too closely. Bokuto had come over to pester him about talking to Akaashi during the barbeque, but he could never. He didn’t know what to say or where to start. 

And it wasn’t like Akaashi had made any effort to get to know him either, so why bother? 

He tried to tell himself that it didn’t matter, but he couldn’t help but feel hurt that Akaashi hadn’t expressed any interest in him whatsoever. Of course, friendship (did he really _just_ want to be Akaashi’s friend, though?) was a two-way street, he knew that. He hadn’t actively tried to talk to Akaashi, either, so he couldn’t really put the blame fully on Akaashi. 

*****

_Second Year_

When Akaashi was made the vice-captain at Bokuto’s insistence, he vowed to do the best he possibly could to become a valuable asset to the team. He wasn’t going to allow his anxieties to overcome him, and he shoved them down well enough. 

He was strong enough to become the official setter for Fukurodani, something he was rather proud of. He went to the Fukurodani Academy Group training camp with the intention to learn so much more than he had the previous year. 

He was excited to see the Nekoma team again, specifically Kenma, though he wouldn’t admit that he’d maybe thought about the other setter more than was appropriate. He didn’t really know why, especially since they hadn’t talked at all last year. He just had a feeling that maybe they’d get along really well. 

When they got to Shinzen High School where the training camp that year was being held, Bokuto bounced off the bus and immediately went looking for Kuroo, whom was now the captain of the Nekoma team. 

Akaashi followed after him, hoping to see Kenma, at least from afar, not that he would admit that. It was silly that he’d been too shy last year to talk to him. He was pretty sure that Kenma was just as anxious as him, though his game sense was... amazing. 

He found Bokuto with his arm around Kuroo’s waist, talking to the Nekoma team like he was their captain, and Akaashi rolled his eyes. 

“Bokuto-san, we have to go get our things put away,” he said, coming up behind his captain. 

“Ah! You’re right, Akaashi!” He drew back from Kuroo, slapping him on the ass as he did so, and Akaashi wished he didn’t have eyes. He didn’t want to have to witness the two of them flirting the whole training camp. 

The usual schools were in attendance, but a school that Akaashi hadn’t heard of, Karasuno, was also there. Apparently Coach Nekomata had invited them because they had a long-standing rivalry, and the two teams had also gotten along very well. 

They were a relatively average team, so Fukurodani didn’t have any problems beating them in their practice match, even when Bokuto went into his dejected mode. Akaashi stayed calm, as always, and set to whoever he thought would be most likely to score. 

Like the previous year, Bokuto dragged Akaashi to individual practice after the matches were done. Kuroo was there as well, and Kenma would be around for about twenty minutes before he’d dip. 

He always went back to the Nekoma room, which was actually kind of pissing Akaashi off, not that he’d admit it. They’d gone back to square one, though after a whole year he shouldn’t be surprised. 

Three days in, Akaashi was determined to talk to Kenma before he left the individual practice that had turned into a three-on-three practice with two Karasuno first years in the mix. 

Twenty minutes later, Kenma grabbed his towel and just walked off the court in the middle of a rally. 

“Kenma, are you serious?!” Kuroo had cried, saving the ball but launching it way over the net out-of-bounds. 

Apparently Kenma was just ten million percent done with Kuroo and Bokuto flirting from opposite sides of the court and decided he’d had enough. The thought made Akaashi smile a little bit. 

Akaashi bowed to Bokuto and said, “I’m tired, Bokuto-san, I’m going back to the room.” 

“Akaashi!!!” Bokuto whined, dragging out his name as he always did. He pouted, but Akaashi was not to be deterred. _He was going to talk to Kenma if it killed him._

He walked out of the gym to find Kenma standing at a vending machine, bending to get some apple juice. The Nekoma setter watched him get closer with curious eyes. “Hi,” Akaashi said, smiling a little. He hoped that conveyed that he was friendly enough. 

Kenma hummed and started to drink his apple juice. “How do you deal with Bokuto on a daily basis?” he asked. 

Akaashi was a bit taken aback that Kenma had started the conversation. “Much like how you deal with Kuroo-san, I imagine,” he shrugged. “Thank goodness I'm a year younger than him.” 

Kenma snorted a laugh, which made Akaashi's chest constrict. He’d never heard Kenma laugh before, and he suddenly became determined to hear that at least once this training camp. 

“Yeah, Kuroo can be a pain in the ass, but he loves volleyball. Bokuto does too, that’s why they get along so well, I guess.” 

Akaashi nodded, trying to think of something to say to that. “So… How do you like volleyball?” 

“It’s fine, I guess,” Kenma shrugged, fiddling with the label on his juice. “I like video games more.” 

“I've noticed.” Akaashi slapped himself mentally at how quickly he'd said that. “Um…what’s your favorite?” 

“I just kinda play what's popular, but I don't really have a favorite right now.” 

There was an awkward silence as they both stood there for a few moments, wondering when the other was going to say something else. 

“So... Bokuto talks about you a lot,” Kenma finally broke the silence. 

“Oh?” 

“Yeah, he comes into our room to gossip with Kuroo when they think that everyone else is asleep.” 

“ _That’s_ where he goes! Did he do that last year every night, too?” 

“Yep, I’m amazed that they never got caught. Everyone on my team is ridiculously sound sleepers, I guess.” 

“You’re not?” 

Kenma shrugged. “When I can get to sleep, I guess, but... most of the time I’m just... awake.” 

Akaashi nodded. “I know that feeling. Um... if you ever want some company, you’re welcome to come to the Fukurodani room and I’ll more often than not be awake, too.” He couldn’t believe his boldness. “I mean, you don’t have to, I just...” 

“No, that’d be nice,” Kenma smiled faintly. “Maybe I’ll do that tonight. Does the offer still stand even if Bokuto isn't in my room with Kuroo?” 

“Of course,” Akaashi nodded, trying not to sound too eager. “I’m usually the one closest to the door, anyway, so you could just poke your head in and I’ll come and keep you company.” 

… 

The first night of the training camp that year had been torture. Everyone was tired from their games all day, but they stayed up really late chatting. Kenma had expected that, honestly, especially from Lev, Shibayama, and Inuoka. They were all excitable first years. 

After the rest of them had drifted off to sleep, Bokuto had slipped into Kuroo’s futon and they’d whispered loud enough for their conversation to be heard, mostly talking about what they’d done last since they’d seen each other. It was a little endearing, Kenma supposed, but _not when he was so fucking tired._

He got maybe an hour of sleep that night, but it was okay because he got to see Shoyo the next day, and he was energized by that. 

Being energized by being around a person only did so much, though, and Kenma suffered throughout the second and third days. 

Kuroo dragged him to play a match against Shoyo, Bokuto, and Akaashi while one of the other Karasuno first years was on their team. Shoyo was as energetic as ever, but Bokuto and Kuroo kept flirting and Kenma couldn’t help but stare at Akaashi. He wasn’t sure if the other setter noticed, but he was _tired_ and he was having feelings about Akaashi that he didn’t want to deal with, so he just left. 

He got some apple juice from the vending machine and felt Akaashi’s eyes on him. He turned and saw the other setter had slipped out of the gym as well. 

Kenma tried to keep his cool the whole time they talked, and when Akaashi had offered to keep him company, he had a hard time keeping his face neutral. 

That night, Kenma kept tossing and turning. Tora and Lev’s snores echoed in the silence of the night, like they were having a snoring competition. Kenma couldn’t blame Kuroo for smooshing two pillows over his head when those two were so fucking loud. 

He sighed, finally sitting up and blowing some of the errant hairs out of his face. Bokuto hadn’t come over that night, and Kenma figured that it was past the time he usually would’ve. Maybe he was too tired or something, maybe he and Kuroo had decided that they wouldn’t meet; in any case he didn’t know and didn’t really care. 

He carefully made his way over to the door, not wanting to wake any of his teammates up. Not that they _would_ considering they were sleeping through the Snore War III. 

It was eerie as he made his way through Shinzen’s vacant hallways towards the room where the Fukurodani team was. He wasn’t sure why he thought this was a good idea; maybe it was because Akaashi was just so goddamn _pretty,_ literally the prettiest guy Kenma had ever seen. 

And he’d been so nice to Kenma, even though it was the first time they’d ever had a conversation. Perhaps they’d both been too shy the prior year, perhaps they just hadn’t figured each other out. Not that Kenma thought he had Akaashi figured out; he just kind of thought that maybe they were both more comfortable with themselves. 

He got to Fukurodani’s door and hesitated. Akaashi had said just to poke his head in, but at the same time he was worried he’d get caught sneaking around the camp. 

He took a deep breath and swung the door open just enough to peek in and saw a single phone’s light shining from under someone’s blanket. 

“Akaashi?” he whispered, hoping that’s who it was. 

The light went out immediately as the phone was locked and the blanket was quickly thrown back, Akaashi bolting up into a sitting position. “Oh, Kozume,” Akaashi breathed, running a hand through his hair. “You startled me.” 

He got out of his futon and out into the hallway with Kenma quickly. 

“Sorry,” Kenma bit his lips. “I just...” 

“No, it’s fine,” Akaashi waved his hand as they started wandering the empty halls in bare feet. “I take it you couldn’t sleep either?” 

“No, and god, Lev and Tora are having a snoring competition, I swear, so that doesn’t help.” 

Akaashi hummed. “Sounds rough. Bokuto and Konoha sometimes have those as well.” 

Kenma looked over at Akaashi, who was bathed in moonlight and looked absolutely breathtaking. 

“What do you think about when you can’t sleep?” he asked, looking back at the floor. 

“Mmm, I don’t know, a lot of things. Not all of them super pleasant.” 

“What are you going to do after high school?” 

Akaashi shrugged. “I’d like to get a job at a publishing company in literature someday. I think that’d be ideal. What about you?” 

“I want to play video games, honestly,” Kenma laughed lightly. “That’d be cool.” 

Akaashi smiled. “Doing what you love would be a great career.” 

“Are we just gonna walk around? Or like... actually try to sleep?” Kenma asked. 

“Oh, uh... I suppose we could just... sit?” Akaashi blinked. 

Kenma found himself laughing at how awkward Akaashi had sounded, and then got flustered that he’d _laughed._ He didn’t do it often, especially not around people he didn’t know very well. 

“Yeah, sure... Let’s just sit against the wall,” he said after clearing his throat. He refused to look at Akaashi, certain that he was flushed with embarrassment. 

They both leaned against the wall and slid down until they were actually sitting, their shoulders nearly touching. 

“So... are we going to sleep?” Akaashi asked, fiddling with his fingers in his lap. 

Kenma found Akaashi’s presence to be very relaxing, and he found himself drifting off rather quickly. Maybe it was because he didn’t have to listen to Lev and Tora, but he wanted to think that being around Akaashi just made him so comfortable that he could finally sleep. The last thing he remembered was leaning onto Akaashi’s shoulder and noticing how nice he smelled. 

… 

Akaashi could barely stop his heart from leaping out of his chest when he heard Kenma laugh, and it seemed like Kenma was a bit embarrassed, so he didn’t draw attention to it. But _god_ that made his heart work triple time for a few seconds. 

And then Kenma just leaned onto him, and Akaashi could barely stop himself from actually screaming. That was the moment he realized he actually had a crush on Kenma, and he wasn’t sure what to do with that information. 

Thankfully he didn’t really have to deal with it because it seemed like his body decided to just tap out on him and he was out cold. 

The next morning, Akaashi awoke when someone rapped their knuckle on the top of his head. He blinked, noticing a weight on his shoulder. He went to stretch but couldn’t really move. 

“Morning sleeping beauty,” Kuroo smirked, and immediately Akaashi didn’t like the look on his face. 

He tried to see who was resting on his shoulder and saw some bleached hair out of the corner of his eye. “Oh…” he said quietly. “Right.” 

“I'm not gonna ask questions, but I just want to say that you two looked awfully cozy and you're lucky I'm the one who found you and not Bokuto,” Kuroo said as he walked away. 

Akaashi wasn’t sure what to do. On one hand, he’d slept rather soundly and although his butt and shoulder were sore and he couldn't really move his neck, he was glad to wake up next to Kenma. On the other hand, he was catching feelings and he wasn’t sure he liked that. Especially since they still hadn’t really had any real conversations. They'd both basically just conked out as soon as they'd sat down together. 

Kenma stirred and Akaashi nearly stopped breathing in hopes that he wouldn't wake up. Not that it helped, because Kenma was already mostly awake. 

“Mmm, is it morning already?” he asked, and Akaashi's breath caught at how husky his voice sounded. 

He cleared his throat, trying not to jostle Kenma too much before answering. “Yeah, I’m not sure if everyone's awake or not, though. Kuroo just came by to wake me up.” 

“Hmm, he's an early riser, I'm sure we still have time.” Kenma cuddled even more into Akaashi's side, and he could've sworn his heart stopped beating. Kenma was doing funny things to his heart, things he'd never felt before. 

… 

Kenma was warm when he woke up, resting on someone’s shoulder. His first thought was Kuroo, but then he remembered that he’d fallen asleep next to Akaashi. A weight was on top of his head, and he smiled when he realized that Akaashi had leaned his head onto Kenma’s. 

He heard footsteps approach and saw Kuroo’s shoes come into view so he immediately closed his eyes. He didn’t want to get teased this early in the morning. 

It was hard to hold back his blush when Kuroo had made the comment that the two of them had been cozy, because they _were,_ and Kenma hadn’t really been that comfortable with... anyone. Sure, he and Kuroo were childhood friends, but it had taken them a long time to actually warm up to each other. And now, with Akaashi, whom he’d technically known for a day since they hadn’t ever talked before, he was falling asleep on his shoulder. 

He wasn’t sure how he felt about that, and it was messing with his head. 

The rest of the training camp seemed to go by way too fast, and the two of them had gotten a little bit closer. Kenma had started sneaking over to the Fukurodani room to avoid Bokuto and Kuroo’s loud midnight whispering and snores, and Akaashi had welcomed him into his futon every time. 

He wasn’t sure what that meant, but he figured that they were _at least friends,_ right? More often than not, Kenma would find himself waking up with an arm around Akaashi’s waist. Thankfully he woke up first, so he could just reposition himself so that he wasn’t a big spoon. 

But he couldn’t help but think that it was nice to wake up that way; with someone in his arms. And he wouldn’t be opposed to it being the other way around. Akaashi had _really_ nice arms. 

He’d sometimes cross paths with Bokuto on his way back to the Nekoma team’s room, but Bokuto was evidently not an early riser so he wouldn’t say anything when he did see Kenma. He was extremely grateful for that. He got enough shit from Kuroo; he didn’t need any from Bokuto. 

… 

Evey morning, Akaashi would wake up when Kenma shook him and told him that he was going back to his room. He wasn’t sure why Kenma felt the need to do that instead of just leave, but he appreciated it very much. He felt like they’d been getting closer and he liked that. 

They’d whisper during the night sometimes, but more often than not they’d find themselves asleep in no time. It was strange; Akaashi usually had a really hard time getting to sleep, but Kenma was just so relaxing to be around. 

The last day of camp finally came and Akaashi was sad to see the Karasuno team leave. He’d become friendly with their setter Kageyama; he was a good kid. Kenma had hung out with Hinata quite a bit as well, and Akaashi was glad to see that they’d both been able to make other friends as well. 

After Karasuno had left, the Fukurodani Academy group schools dispersed as well. Bokuto and Kuroo, of course, walked away together, though Akaashi was a little surprised to see them holding hands. He hadn’t expected them to finally realize their feelings for each other. 

“Seems like those two finally figured out what they were feeling,” Kenma said from beside him. 

Akaashi chuckled. “I guess so. I’m surprised it didn’t take them even longer.” 

“So, um... we’re leaving, but could I maybe get your number? Just so like we can talk over the next year and stuff. You don’t have to give it to me or anything, just...” 

Akaashi had frozen at Kenma’s words, but he slowly turned to see the other setter was trying to block his flushed face with his hair. 

“Yeah, I’d love to give you my number. I’ll see you at the Tokyo prelims, though, right?” 

“Of course, yeah,” Kenma nodded, a small smile accompanying the blush on his face as he handed his phone to Akaashi. 

… 

Kenma immediately sent a text to Akaashi to make sure that it was all real, and the phone pinged a few moments later. “Great, now you have my number, too,” he couldn’t stop the grin that overcame his face. 

“Sounds good,” Akaashi nodded, his own smile growing on his face. 

Neither knew what the future held for them, but they hoped that it was something amazing.

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt 1 - Mutual Pining
> 
> Y'ALL I'M SO EXCITED FOR AKAKEN WEEK!!!!!!!!!! it's only the second week of my semester and i'm trying to make time for this because i genuinely love them so much.
> 
> my first time writing these boys and they're both...... kind of enigmas to me, so i hope i did them justice lol. also this WAY got away from me, i didn't mean to write this much whoops.


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